MANSFIELD, Washington USA — Tom Van Etten's passion for rocketry reached an all-time high at the Fire in The Sky Festival this weekend.

About 11,311 feet high, to be exact.

The 25-pound rocket, built in a Marysville garage and aptly named Dreams in Flight, rode 300 pounds of thrust for about 15 seconds on Sunday. It sped at about 550 mph to reach its top altitude, more than 2 miles high.

Volunteers prepare the 12-foot tall rocket for lift off, before it soars to 11,311 feet Sunday.

Prior to the launch, Van Etten thought the rocket had an outside chance to break the record of 14,051 feet for this size motor at this launch pad. But he was very happy with the flight nonetheless.

"It went perfect," Van Etten, 62, said.

Van Etten's rocket was one of about 1,000 rockets to be launched this weekend at Fire in the Sky 2006, an annual event in this town near Lake Chelan.

For Van Etten, the whole day was like a dream.

Diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago, the Federal Way man put his hobby on hold and sold his rockets to put his energy and money toward recovery.

He originally bought the rocket that went up Sunday a few years ago intending to gain the top rocketry level of certification.

Rocket enthusiasts must prove their knowledge and safety to fly increasingly larger and more powerful rockets. The highest level requires a large rocket to go up and come down without being damaged, among other things.

With illness upon him, Van Etten decided to sell his rocket to John Hawkins, a friend and fellow rocket enthusiast.

That's when Hawkins decided to help make Van Etten's dream come true.

In a Marysville garage, Hawkins and about 15 others donated time, money and equipment to build Van Etten's rocket.

They worked with the Tripoli Rocket Association to get permission to approve Van Etten's certification given the special circumstances.

"We thought it was a great gesture," Tripoli Vice President Pat Gordzelik said. "This is going to be a first."

And all of it was done without telling Van Etten.

"He knew it would fly," Hawkins said, "but didn't know it was being done in his honor."

Hawkins built the rocket, assembling fiberglass tubes and a plastic nose cone, along with complex electronic altimeters and two parachutes. Another friend painted and sanded it. Someone else applied the lettering, honoring Van Etten and all those that helped build it.

"Rocketry's a tight community," Ralph Wheeler said.

Wheeler contributed an ejector system to the project, despite never meeting Van Etten.

Scott Harrison, who runs a hybrid rocket motor business in Victoria, B.C., said he was more than willing to donate a motor to help Van Etten.

"If we can help someone out - make their life a little better - we'll definitely go out of our way to do it," he said.

Van Etten's wife Novie said her husband got more involved with rocketry almost 20 years ago after suffering a severe stroke.

Before the stroke, Van Etten was an avid outdoorsman, a teacher and a police officer. After his stroke, his wife said, he needed to use a walker or wheelchair to get around.

He decided to build rockets, she said, because he had done it as a boy and was interested in chemistry and physics.

He became friendly with the rocketry community and people helped him out, doing things he couldn't do.

"These people accepted Tom as an equal," she said, despite his disability.

She said the surprise meant a lot to her husband, knowing so many people worked hard to make his dream come true.

"This is very special, not just for Tom, but everybody in the club and everyone in the disabled community," she said prior to the launch.

She burst into tears when she saw the inscription on the rocket honoring her husband. When he saw it, he laughed and said "it's great."

He later recalled the first rocket he ever tried to launch in 1958, and how it was "a complete failure," that ended up "a melted pile of goo." This one, he hoped, would go a little more smoothly. After all, it had been built by his friends, and not by a 15-year-old.

When the time came, Van Etten listened to the countdown and pushed the big red button.

"Dreams in Flight" shot straight up, its orange body quickly losing itself in a bright blue sky. A few minutes later it reappeared, this time falling to earth beneath a bright yellow parachute.

Van Etten left with his certification.

"I'm delighted," he said.

Copyright © 2006, Daily Herald.